Chocolate Is Forever

February 17, 2020
A greatest-hits culled from the long career of the late Heatter (1916–2019) is collected in this enjoyable cookbook. Included are Heatter trademarks such as her favorite birthday cake (two flourless chocolate layers sandwiching whipped cream and topped with coffee-chocolate icing) and her famous Palm Beach brownies with Peppermint Patties. Instructions are solid and specific (readers are admonished, for instance, not to overdo the zigzagging when marbling a loaf cake), though the slightly amateurish drawings sometimes don’t capture Heatter’s precise finishing instructions. A retro feel is inevitable—Heatter recounts tracking down a chocolate soufflé cake recipe on the Upper East Side in 1980—but there’s sweet nostalgia to be found in three variations on chocolate fondue and old-fashioned fudge. Treats such as chocolate icebox cookies studded with almonds, and pots de crème are classics for good reason. Still, it might have been nice to have historical background on some of her recipes, such as when “the newest cheesecake,” based on Craig Claiborne’s, was actually new. Heatter remains an important figure in the American baking world, and reading her firm-but-friendly voice is like visiting with an old friend.

Starred review from April 1, 2020

Heatter (Happiness Is Baking) presents a fantastic new collection of her best chocolate recipes. Included are many of her most popular recipes like the Queen Mother's Cake, Palm Beach Brownies with Chocolate-Covered Mints, and New York City Chocolate Cheesecake. Also featured are several tips to consider before baking, such as letting treats cool for the allotted time once taken out of the oven, lining a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and so on. A section with suggested ingredients will help any home baker perfect these recipes, many of which call for using instant espresso to enhance the flavor of chocolate. Heatter gives tips on how to melt chocolate without it seizing or burning. For equipment, she recommends having access to a good hand mixer or stand mixer; many of the recipes will be difficult to make without either. Similar to her previous books, here Heatter offers helpful anecdotes and advice before the recipe. VERDICT A highly recommended, extremely well-produced collection of Heatter's best recipes. Perfect for all experience levels.--Holly Skir, Broward Cty. Lib., FL

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.